


You Never Know

by 6point28



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: F/M, Fake Dating, also they're both sluts for a good ted talk, but lbr who isn't, darcy is such a nerd, him and lizzie both have the nyt app notifications turned on????
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-01-27
Packaged: 2018-05-16 12:36:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5829208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6point28/pseuds/6point28
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lizzie would jump off a cliff if it meant she could get an in at one of the new media companies she’d had her eye on. An actual cliff–no metaphors here; she would be willing to break her back for a job.<br/>But go to a party? With William Darcy?</p><p>Or, the fake dating au that nobody asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Never Know

**Author's Note:**

> Written whilst procrastinating from an econ paper, hence the economics reference.  
> Many thanks to ingoddesswetrust on tumblr for pretty much just existing but also helping me so much with coming up with ideas/writing/editing the fic.

How far was too far to go just to get a job interview?

Lizzie would jump off a cliff if it meant she could get an in at one of the new media companies she’d had her eye on. An actual cliff–no metaphors here; she would be willing to break her back for a job.

But go to a party? With  _ William Darcy _ ? One of his coworkers’ engagement parties or something; she didn’t know, nor did she care too much.  She was doing this to get a job interview. That was it.

“It’s for the good of your future,” she murmurs to herself as her doorbell rings. “It’ll be worth it.”

Standing on the other side of her door is, of course, the one and only Darcy. Just the sight of him makes her want to scowl.  _ He’s doing you a favor. You can put up with him for one night _ .

“Good evening,” he says. Lizzie smiles meekly.  _ It’s just one night _ .

She follows him out to his car, and they’re on their way.

 

“How’s Pemberly digital going?” Lizzie asks, a desperate attempt to make polite small talk.

“I, err, lost a bet with Fitz,” he says in lieu of some awkward answer, for which Lizzie’s grateful.

“What was the bet?” she asks.

“I thought the 49ers would win; I was mistaken.” He sighs. Lizzie giggles.  She never would have guessed that the illusive  _ William Darcy _ would care about sports at all, and seeing him be super bitter about it was weirdly, well, humanizing.

“So how much do you owe him?”

“We didn’t bet money.”

Of course. High school econ floods back to Lizzie: the marginal benefit of Darcy receiving more money would be really low, him being as stupid rich as he is.

“I, um, he made me promise that if I lost, I would have to bring a date to this–”

“William Darcy, are you asking me out?”

“No!”

The response comes quick, too quick and too certain, and it’s not like Lizzie wanted him to say  _ yes _ or anything, but was the thought of her really that repulsive?

There was a reason she hated him.

“But everyone there  _ thinks _ that I did.”

What?

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” Darcy says.  “I can pay you, if you want.”

Lizzie’s jaw drops. “I’m not a prostitute–”

“Escort.”

“Same difference. Shit, I’m not that desperate for money–did you really just offer–”

“I’m sorry.” Darcy pulls into a parking space and turns to face her. “I just thought–”

“Keep your thoughts to yourself, next time.” If she were a cartoon character, fire would be steaming out of her ears.

“Apologies.”

Lizzie sighs. “Fine, I’ll be your girlfriend for the night.”

Darcy perks up a bit.

“You’re not going to pay me, but you’re going to guarantee I get that interview.”

“Will do.”

“And no more dates after this, okay??”

  
  


The first thing she does after getting inside is run to the bathroom to update Charlotte on the absurdity of the situation.

“He offered to  _ pay _ me, Char. It’s bad–stop laughing!!”

Charlotte did not stop laughing.

  
  


“The two of you are so cute together!!” Someone–one of Darcy’s rich friends, Lizzie assumes–walks up to them and nearly squeals.

“Thanks,” Lizzie deadpans, then feels Darcy glancing at her for the lack of authenticity in her response. “ _ Sweetie _ ,” she coos, “can you get me another wine?” If she was going to get through this night, she sure needed it.

“How long have you been dating?” The girl asks once Darcy walks off.

“Not too long.” That counts as a good response, right?

“I had the biggest crush on him as a kid, you are  _ so _ lucky.”

Lizzie has to try her hardest to keep herself from snorting. She looks past the perfect hair and shiny pearls and across the room towards a large afro smiling at her. “Fitz, thank god,” she breathes a sigh of relief. “Excuse me,” she says to the girl before making her way across the room.

“Hello, Mrs. D,” Fitz smirks.

“It’s B– Fitz, you know my name…” It takes Lizzie a second for his greeting to hit her. “I’m not on a date.”

“Seems that way to me.”

“I mean, I am, but it’s because of  _ your _ bet. This is all your fault. Save me.”

Fitz just smiles and shrugs. “Not my fault he asked you out. The two of you are perfect together.”

“Fitz. Did you hear anything I just said? We’re not really on a date.”

“If you’re not really on a date, why is he staring at you like how I stare at cinnamon buns at Pemberley digital.”

Lizzie grins. “Those are some good cinnamon buns.”

“I’m sure you want to see  _ Darcy’s _ cinnamon buns,” Fitz winks.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response.” Lizzie turns around to walk away and ends up running smack dab into Darcy’s arms. 

“Whoa there,” Darcy says, the glass of wine falling to the floor as he catches her. The entire room turns around and stares. Fitz bursts into applause. “Are you okay?”

“Mortally embarrassed, but otherwise fine.” She stands right back up, trying to ignore the fact that one of the biggest rom com clichés just happened to her. Charlotte would be having a field day right now.

A man grins and walks on over to the happy ‘couple’. “I’m sorry to interrupt your date, but if I could talk to Ms. Bennett for a moment?”

Lizzie’s jaw drops. “You’re Hank Green!”

Okay, so maybe being Darcy’s date had its perks–as in, getting to meet one of the biggest names in new media…

  
  


“Charlotte. I got the interview, and I think I’ll get the job, but ugh, for some reason people keep coming up to Darcy and I congratulating us and punching him in the arm in that weird bro way, saying it’s about time we happened? Do you know what that means?”

  
  


The night had been going on for seemingly forever (although any time spent with William Darcy lasted seemingly forever to Lizzie  because she’s so in love time just stops when they’re together ), but weirdly enough, it was only just about time for dinner, which–ugh, that meant sitting next to Darcy.

“How are you liking the night?”

“It’s not as bad as I thought,” Lizzie says.

“So, um, do you, um, I mean, what – where do you see yourself working after graduating?”

Lizzie snorts so hard that wine almost comes out of her nose, which shocks Darcy out of his stupor of embarrassment enough to smile.

They break eye contact and turn their heads to the phones that both ping loudly at the same time. 

Darcy looks up. “New York Times?”

“You have them on notification too?”

He nods.

“Lydia makes fun of me for it all the time.” It’s the kind of crazy nerdy thing that she would make fun of Darcy for if she didn’t have the notifications turned on herself.

“Gigi used to, until I downloaded the app to her phone.”

“And now she probably thanks you for helping her be illuminated on current events, right?” Lizzie laughs. Darcy smiles.

_ What does it say about me that I’m just about as much of a geek as Darcy _ ?

Someone stands up to make a toast to–well, someone. Lizzie’s not paying much attention at all. She’s too distracted looking at Darcy, hunched over his phone reading the news article.

  
  


“You know, I’m not sure why you two didn’t get together sooner,” Fitz comments.

“We’re not–”

“You keep telling yourself that.”

  
  


The party goes on. Lizzie dances–mostly with Fitz, in an attempt to not recreate the most awkward dance ever. She only sneaks to the bathroom to call Charlotte once more–surprisingly, she’s actually enjoying herself.

  
  


“That was crazy,” Lizzie says, kicking back in the shotgun seat of Darcy’s car, a thousand times more comfortable now than it was when they were driving in the beginning of the night.

The corners of Darcy’s mouth perk up. “You think it was?”

“I’m getting a shot to work for one of the best new media companies. I’ll say that’s pretty crazy.”

He nods.

“And hey, being your date wasn’t as horribly awful as I thought.”

“Really?”

Lizzie laughs. “No, it was still painfully awkward.”

Darcy stares straight ahead, his eyes on the road, completely silent.

“What?”

“It’s nothing,” he says.

“No, really. What?”

“Would you like to maybe go on a date that’s not as painfully fake and awkward?”

Remember the shock that Lizzie had when Darcy said he would pay her? Think back to that shock, and multiply it by a thousand. That’s how Lizzie feels now.

“William Darcy-”

“Yes?”

“You  _ are _ asking me out.”

He pulls the car over to the side of the road so he can turn and face her.

“Elizabeth Bennett, I like you.”

Without thinking too much about it, Lizzie reaches her hand to his face and kisses him.

Oddly enough, she likes him too.

  
  


They go back to his apartment after that to “watch some Ted Talks.”

  
  


“Watching Ted Talks? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Charlotte asks, laughing hysterically, when Lizzie calls her the next morning.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes you do.”

“You know the STEM literacy talk? It’s really good you should check it out–”

“I will if you can tell me how it ended.”

Lizzie blushes.


End file.
